Senate Bonding Committee Heading to Southwest Minnesota

Committee members will tour projects from Nov. 17-19

Chair, Senate Capital Investment Committee

ST.PAUL, Minn. – The Senate Bonding Committee is heading out on its fourth regional tour this fall to Southwestern Minnesota. The three-day tour runs Nov. 17-19 and will make stops in St. Peter, Mankato, Worthington, Marshall, Willmar and Green Isle. Project tours will include visits to several rail grade separation projects, MSU-Mankato, Windom Ice Arena, Lewis and Clark Water Pipeline in Luverne, Southwest Minnesota State University, and Montevideo City Hall.

Sen. LeRoy Stumpf (DFL-Plummer), Chair of the Senate Capital Investment Committee, says the tour bus has already traveled close to 2,500 miles this fall and has heard from nearly 100 projects. The total number of projects requesting state bonding dollars has reached close to $3.5 billion; Sen. Stumpf says that need makes seeing these projects in person all the more important.

“These can be grueling days and very long hours, but it’s vital that members of the committee understand the project needs. Frequently, you can’t really understand some of these communities’ needs until you see them in person. There is a huge demand for basic infrastructure across the state, so it can be a little daunting, but learning as much as possible before we put this bill together is critical to investing taxpayers’ money wisely,” said Sen. Stumpf.

The Senate Capital Investment website Build.MN has been following along on the bonding tours, allowing the public an insider’s view of projects, complete with photo galleries:http://build.mn/gallery/ and journal entries from the senators: http://build.mn/journal/. You can also follow along by visiting the committee’s following social media pages:

Bonding is a process in which the state invests money into state-owned infrastructure projects. The state of Minnesota sells General Obligation (G.O.) bonds for the cost of capital projects with the approval of the legislature. The bonds are sold to investors who receive their money back, plus interest. Staying competitive in today’s global economy requires our ongoing commitment to maintain and protect the things that make our state great.